The United States of Pizza, mapsplained

How did we get so much — and so many types — of pizza? It's a complicated story with some cheesy digressions.

How this video happened

This has long been the most requested mapsplained video (after I did my videos on BBQ and beer). I didn't know how to do it, because I didn't want to publish a laundry list. But a little research and some great chats gave me a way in.

The video is here.

Check out more

Here's a link to the reaction video (for some paid tiers).

Canada's Pizza Capital

During the "pizza party" with viewers that I held while recording this video, Jeremy provided a tantalizing digression: had I considered Canada's pizza mecca?

I'm often aware of the extreme American-ness of my videos, and that's mostly intentional. I think the sort of narrow cultural observations I make don't scale well globally, and I also struggle to know how to research global issues. But I have to admit that the USA focus in this video stung a bit, especially when Scott of Scott's pizza tours told me about the octagonal pizza boxes of South America, or when I read in "Modernist Pizza" about Argentinian pizza, with its intriguing toppings like chorizo and hearts of palm.

So let's raise a glass or slice and toast to Windsor, Ontario's pizza. The truth is, it's one of those places that I consider barely Canadian, since it's just across the border from Detroit. But the tourism board still brags about their distinctive style: shredded pepperoni, canned mushrooms, and a near New York-style slice crust, but with a rectangular cut.

Most consider Volcano Pizzeria to be the epicenter, so we'll feature a picture of their pie. But the style has grown beyond one pizza place. It reminded me of Quad Cities pizza - a small, but strong, pizza community with a toppings-heavy skew. Pizza is everywhere for those who have eyes to see.

Sources for the video

• Modernist Pizza was, without a doubt, the most useful book. It provided a survey of pizza styles, descriptions I leaned on heavily, and great analysis (that I could use or dismiss). Happily, I believe all three of my interviewees worked on this very wonderful and very expensive book.

• Scott of Scott's Pizza Tours is someone that I knew from Jeff Rubin's mostly dormant podcast  (they're friends, but Scott's expertise is very much in line with Jeff's eclectic guest choices). Because I thought of Scott as a hustling businessman (running a pizza tour company seems very daunting to me), I wasn't sure if he'd be a pizzalectual. But Peter recommended him instantly, and our conversation showed me that he wasn't just charismatic, but incredibly well researched.

• Peter Regas was an amazing sleuth and I'm so glad I found him via a Deep Dish article he wrote. He talked to me for quite a while, and I remarked to him that I wish half the journalists I've worked with displayed his passion for accuracy and deep original research.

• Colin M. Caplan runs tours in New Haven and his book, Pizza in New Haven, is a must-read for anyone who cares about its pizza. I left out a ton of great anecdotes, including a pizza vending machine, a brief history of the pizza box, and more that Colin gets into in his book.

• You want to visit a Pizza Hut classic? Rolando has you covered. His list is awesome, and so is his newsletter. He's got a book coming out next year that you'll want to check out if you love distinctive architecture and roadside history. Was a pleasure to chat with him.

• I literally didn't know until typing this that there's a whole subreddit of former Pizza Huts. Bravo. I found it via the website Used To Be A Pizza Hut.

• Hilariously, I read all of Pizza Tiger, the Domino's memoir, before deciding that Pizza Hut was a more visual story to be the main anchor for part II. It was fine. The founder, Tom Monaghan, was an orphan and is pretty religious (he considered seminary before Domino's). I wouldn't say I gleaned huge insights from it — definitely one of those moments though where I looked up from the book and thought, "Why am I reading hundreds of pages about Domino's right now?"

• This isn't a source, but this is where I admit that I think I did legitimately enjoy my Pizza Hut pizza the most, even though I bought the actual legendary pizzas via Goldbelly. Cooking at home isn't the same as getting pizza from a restaurant, so I might have given the famous pizzas short shrift. But I don't know, that Pizza Hut was pretty good. They offer spicy marinara sauce now and it didn't disappoint.

• Oh finally - got an idea for a mapsplained you want to see? Let me know.